Snap-in fluorescent lampholders with quick-connect terminals



J. M. PISTEY April 5, 1966 SNAP-IN FLUORESCENT LAMPHOLDERS WITH QUICK --CONNECT TERMINALS Filed March 12, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor John M. Pisteg \QIWQ. 6%

His Attovnqg April 5, 1966 .1. M. PlSTEY 3,245,026

SNAP-IN FLUORESCENT LAMPHOLDERS WITH QUICK-CONNECT TERMINALS Filed March 12, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3. Fig.4.

April 5, 1966 J. M. PISTEY 3,245,026

SNAP-IN FLUORESCENT LAMPHOLDERS WITH QUICK-CONNECT TERMINALS Filed March 12, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. IO.

Inventor'- dohn M. PisLeB b5 UM Q. His Attorney United States Patent 3,245,026 SNAP-IN FLUORESCENT LAMPHOLDERS WITH QUIfIK-CONNECT TERMINALS John M. Pistey, Fair-field, (101111., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 179,135 3 Claims. (Cl. 339-55) The present invention relates to lamphol-ders and particularly lampholders for double-ended electric discharge lamps, commonly known as fluorescent lamps.

For assembling certain prior art fluorescent lampholders in lighting fixtures, fastening hardware, such as screws and nuts, commonly has been utilized. One example of prior art lampholders employing the fastening hardware is the type of lampholders wherein one lampholder of each pair includes a compressible contact positioning plunger and the other lampholder of the pair has a stationary contact positioning member. The use of screws and nuts for mounting this type of fluorescent lampholder entails an additional material and labor cost which it would be advantageous for the fixture manufacturers to eliminate. Accordingly it is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved type of fluorescent lampholder with an integral means for simply and expeditiously fastening the lampholder to a panel aperture.

A further object of my invention is to provide a new and improved structure and arrangement of lampholder contacts so that these contacts effectively employ resiliently operable pressure locking terminals, and at the same time result in a simplified over-all lampholder construction which is extremely flexible in application and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

In carrying out one aspect of my invention, in one form thereof, I have provided a fluorescent lampholder having an insulating body with a recess therein. This insulating body has a generally cylindrical configuration and is of such an external diameter that it may fit into a circular aperture of a thin supporting panel. A contact positioning member is seated in the recess of the insulating body and is in complementary relationship therewith to substantially close one end of the base. Contact means are disposed in the recess and exposed by the contact positioning member for engagement with associated contacts of a fluorescent lamp base. With this lampholder arrangement, an annular clamping member is secured to the insulating body for retaining the lampholder in firmly seated position in the panel. This clamping member has an annular section with a flanged outer periphery of greater diameter than the aperture to seat on the panel around the periphery of the aperture. The annular section is secured to the insulating body and is arranged to engage the contact positioning member and the open end of the insulating body for fastening the contact positioning member to the body. The clamping member thus holds the parts of the lampholder together in assembled relationship.

For removably mounting the lampholder in the panel aperture, a plurality of attaching legs are extended in generally perpendicular fashion from the annular section of the clamping member and are spaced about the periphery of the insulating body. Each of these attaching legs is of resilient construction and has an outwardly extending shoulder spaced apart from the annular section of the clamping member a suitable distance to receive an edge of the circular panel aperture therebetween. With this arrangement, the legs of the clamping member snap into cooperative engagement with the circular aperture of the supporting panel to securely fasten the lampholders thereto. On the outer periphery of the insulating See body, there is formed a radially projecting key. This key cooperates with a notch formed in the panel aper ture when the insulating body is positioned therein to prevent any angular rotation of the insulating body. The cooperation of the key of the body with the notch of the panel aperture precludes any angular rotation of the lampholder with respect to the panel. By means of the applicants clamping member, the lampholder parts are effectively held together and a simple and eflicient means is also provided for snapping the lampholder into engagement with a supporting panel in a predetermined angular relationship.

By a further aspect .of my invention, I provide an improved contact arrangement for a fluorescent lampholder of the general type wherein a relatively stationary contact positioning member is employed. This contact arrangement may, of course, be combined with the aforesaid lampholder mounting structure to provide a particularly desirable fluorescent lampholder. In this arrangement, the insulating body of the lampholder in cludes at least two opposed conductor receiving apertures extending into the recess through respective opposite sides of the body. At least one resilient contact is disposed within the recess. This contact includes an elongated strip section of U-shaped configuration for providing the lampholder terminations and a looped strip section for resiliently engaging an associated contact pin of a fluorescent lamp. The U-shaped section is con nected to the looped section by a supporting strap, and it includes a pair of opposed arms. These arms have their ends positioned angularly across the opposed inner ends of the conductor receiving apertures and are ar ranged for resilient movement in first and second directions in response to the insertion of bared external conductors to provide a pair of pressure locking terminals for these conductors. The looped strip section is disposed between the' ends of the elongated strip section and is arranged for resilient movement in a third direction transverse to the first .and second directions to engage the pin of a lamp. With this arrangement, a projection is formed in the recess on each side of the insulating body next to the supporting strap. These projections are in bracketing disposition with the strap at the supported end of the looped section and each projection is arranged to engage the strap on one side thereof. By means of the engagement of these projections with the strap, an effective and simplified means is obtained for substantially segregating the resilient movement of each of the arms of the contact from the other and from the looped strip section.

By a further aspect of my invention, I have provided an improved contact arrangement for a fluorescent lampholder incorporating a movable plunger type of contact positioning member. This contact arrangement may, of course, be combined with the aforesaid lampholder mounting structure to provide -a particularly desirable plunger type fluorescent lampholder. In this arrangement, the insulating body of the lampholder is provided with a recessed chamber that opens into one end thereof and at least one conductor receiving aperture extending into the chamber from the other end thereof. The chamber includes a generally cylindrical cavity and at least one recess in the wall of the chamber which opens laterally into the cavity and also communicates with the conductor receiving aperture. A contact supporting plunger is arranged in the cylindrical cavity of the chamber for reciprocating movement relative to the insulating body. Contact means are carried by the plunger for engagement with a fluorescent lamp base. A resilient means is provided for biasing the contact means into engagement with the plunger and for biasing the plunger outwardly from the cylindrical cavity. With this arrangement, a specially constructed terminal member is arranged in complementary engagement with the chamber. This terminal member includes a contact engaging section disposed in the cylindrical cavity for connection to the contact means and a looped pressure locking section disposed in the recess for resilient attachment to a conductor inserted through the conductor receiving aperture. The looped pressure locking section includes a resilient tongue which is positioned angularly across the inner end of the aperture and located adjacent a Wall of the recess. This tongue is arranged to -resiliently sandwich the inserted conductor against the wall of the recess for locking the conductor into enga ement with the Contact means. By using a contact havingthis configu'ration and arr-angeinent, an effective and simplified means is provided for connecting an external conductor to the lampholder contact means of the plunger without in any way interfering with the reciprocating action of the plun er in the cylindrical cavity of the chamber.

Further aspects of my invention will become apparent hereinafter and the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which I regard as my invention. The invention, however, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description when taken in-conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: I 1,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing a pair of panel mounted lampholders embodying my invention and a fluorescent lamp disposed in engagement with these lampholders; FIG. 1a' is a fragmentary plan view of a fixture panel which includes an aperture wherein the lampholders of the present invention may be elfeetively and removably seated without requiring the use of any supplemental hardware;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the lampholders and the ends of the lamp of FIG. 1 artly in section with the base at one end of the lafilp partly Withdrawn from its lampholder; 7

FIG. 3;; a side elevatiehal view of the lampholder of FIG. 1 for the high voltage end of the lamp, this lampholder having a movable plun er;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the lampholder of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear View of the lampholder of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the lampholder of FIG. 3, with the insulating body partially broken away to show the interior structure thereof;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the lampholder body of FIG. 6, looking into the recessed chamber of the body, and showing one terminal element seated in the body and one terminal element removed;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the lampholder of FIG. 1 for the low voltage end of the lamp, this lampholder having a relatively stationary contact positioning member;

FIG; 9 is a front view of the lampholder of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the lampholder of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the lampholder of FIG. 8; 7

FIG. 12 is a front view of the insulating body of the lampholder of FIG. 8, looking into the recessed chamber of the body, and showing one contact sea-ted and one contact removed;

FIG. 13 is a front View partially broken away of a lamphokllder embodying my invention in alternate form thereof; an 1. FIG. 1'4 is a front view of another lampholder'embodymg my invention, in alternate form thereof.

Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a conventional type of double-ended fluorescent lamp 1 supported at opposite ends between a pair of lampholders 3 and 5 which are constructed in accordance with my invention. The lampholders 3 and 5 are removably secured to opposed panels 7 of a suitable support 8 which is part of a lighting fixture.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lamp 1 has a tubular glass envelope 9 provided with bases 11 and 13 at each of its respective ends. The lampholder 3 is provided with a movable spring biased contact positioning plunger 15 for engagement with base 11 of the lamp, and the lampholder 5 provides a stationary contact positioning means for engagement with base 13 of the lamp. The structure of the lampholders 3 and 5 shall be discussed in detail hereinafter. To mount lamp 1 in the lampholders 3 and 5, the base 11 is first engaged with plunger 15 of lampholder 3 and the lamp is then moved to the left (viewing FIG. 1) to force the plunger 15 into the lampholder 3 until the lamp base 13 can clear the lampholder 5, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 1. The lamp 1 is then brought into line with the lampholder 5 and the base 13 of the lamp is engaged therewith. The lamp is held firmly in the lampholder-s 3 and 5 by the spring biased plunger 15. Removal of the lamp from the lampholders is accomplished by moving it to the left (viewing FIG. 1) until the lamp base 13 is withdrawn from lampholder 5, tilting the lamp to clear the lampholder 5, and then withdrawing base 11 from plunger 15 of lampholder 3.

The lamp bases 11 and 13 are of identical structure and, therefore, for conciseness in description, the internal parts of only the base 11 have been shown completely in FIG; 2 of the drawings. The lamp base 11, as shown FIG. 2, comprises an annular metal shell 17 and a disc 19 of electrically insulating material. The inner rim of the shell 17 is embedded in the periphery of the insulating disc 19 to mechanically join these base members together in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2.

The disc 19 includes an elongated em'bossment 21 projecting outwardly from its base. A passage 23 is provided in the embossed portion of disc 19, and this passage 2'3 extends completely through the center of the disc. Metal wire current in-l'eads '25 and 27 extend inwardly through passage 23 and stem 29 of the glass envelope 9 for connection to electrode 31. The outer ends of the current inleads 25 and 27 are bent over in opposite dire'otions, as shown in FIG. 2, and they terminate within two outwardly facing cavities 3s and 35 which are conneoted to the passage '23.

As is well known in the art, the lamp envelope 9 contains a starting gas, such as argon, at a few millimeters pressure, and a small quantity 37 of mercury which is at a pressure of about 10 microns during operation of the lamp. A coating 39 of fluorescent material is provided on the inner surface of the envelope and this material is excited to luminescence by the mercury vapor discharge during the energization of the electrodes.

Turning now to an important aspect of the present invention, which concerns a simplified means for removably mounting the new and improved lampholders 3 and 5 in a supporting panel without requiring any supplemental hardware, attention is directed to FIGS. 1 and 2. The lampholder 3, which is shown at the left of FIGS. 1 and 2, includes a cup-shaped insulating body 41 with a recessed chamber 43 (FIG. 7) opening into one end 45 thereof, and the aforementioned contact positioning plunger 15 which is reciprocably and telescopically arranged within the chamber 43 of body 4 1 to form an insulative housing 47 (FIG. 2) for the movable contact elements of the lampholder. (See also FIG. 6). In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the lampholder 3 also includes a clamping member 4 9, which effectively holds plunger 15 in complementary engagement with the cup-shaped insulating body 41, and also readily snaps the lampholder into engagement with a panel aperture 51 (FIG. 1a) for securing it to a supporting fixture.

[For telescopically receiving plunger 15, as shown in FIG. 7, the chamber 43 of body 41 includes a generally cylindrical cavity 53 with a pair of diametrically opposed grooves 55 formed in the side walls thereof. The plunger 15 has a generally cylindrical external configuration of less diameter than the cylindrical cavity 53 and is provided with diametrically opposed shoulders '57 (FIG. 2) which project radial-1y outwardly from the plunger and fit into the grooves 55 of body 41 to guide the reciprocating movement of the plunger 15 in cavity 53.

As shown in FIG. 6, the clamping member 49 includes an annular disc-like section 59. Section 59 has an outer flanged periphery 61 of greater diameter than the round edge 63 of panel aperture 51 (-as illustrated on the left side of FIG. 1), and a central aperture 65 (FIG. 6) of slightly greater diameter than the external diameter of plunger 15. For effectively attaching the clamping member 49 to insulating body 41 and at the same time holding plunger 15 in engagement therewith, a series of T- sha-ped lugs 67 are integrally formed on outer periphery 61 of the clamping member. Lugs 67 extend outwardly in a generally perpendicular direction from the plane of annular section 59. In the illustrated lampholder 3, as shown in FIG. 5, four equiangularly spaced lugs 67 are provided. For cooperation with these lugs 67, the outer periphery of insulating body 41 includes a series of four equiangularly spaced channels 69 which are in generally parallel relationship to the axis of body 41 (:FIGS. 3 and 7). Each of the channels 69 extends between open end 45 of body 41 and closed end 71 of body 41 and, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a pair of aligned transverse shoulders 73 adjacent to but spaced from the open end 45. (See also FIG. 3.) The channel 69 is also axially and transversely stepped at shoulders 73, being of shallower depth and smaller width between body end 45 and the shoulders 73 than the depth and width between shoulders 73 and body end 71. (See FIG. 2.)

To attach the clamping member 49 to body 41 and also fasten plunger 15 thereto, as shown in FIG. 2, the plunger 15 is positioned in chamber 53 of body 41 with the opposed shoulders 57 located in grooves 55 of the body. The central aperture 65 (FIG. 6) of the annular section 59 of the clamping member is thereupon placed around plunger 15 and the T-shaped lugs 67 are located in their associated channels 69. Outermost arms 75 of the lugs 67 are then bent over into engagement behind the opposed shoulders 73 of the channels 69 (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) to clamp member 49 to body 41. Since the diameter of clamping member aperture 65 through which the plunger 15 extends is smaller than the distance between the outermost surfaces of plunger shoulders 57, the shoulders 57 are limited in their outward movement from within the chamber of the insulating body 41 by engagement with the inner surface of annular section 59 of the clamping member. (See FIG. 2.) It will thus be seen that clamping member 49 has been simply and efficiently utilized to attach the plunger 15 to insulating body 41.

For removably attaching the lampholder 3 to panel aperture 51 in a simplified and effective manner, between each adjacent pair of T-shaped lugs 67, an adjacent pair of angularly spaced attachment legs 77 are formed on the outer periphery 61 of clamping member 49. (See FIG. 6.) Each of the attachment legs 77 includes two sections which are in angular relationship to provide an outwardly extending wall-engaging shoulder 79. The wall engaging shoulders 79 face radially outwardly from the axis of the lampholder and are disposed on the legs 77 a predetermined distance from the outer periphery 61 of clamping member 49 so that the assembled lampholder 3 may be readily snapped into engagement with panel aperture 51 from the front thereof. More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the legs 77 are arranged in series around the periphery of the clamping member and they are generally perpendicular to annular section 59. When the lampholder 3 is not mounted, the outer ends of shoulders 79 of legs -77 are generally arranged in a circle of diameter greater than aperture 51. During the insertion or withdrawal of lampholder 3 from the panel aperture 51, the shoulders 79 are compressed inwardly toward the axis of the lampholder by engagement of one or the other of the angled leg sections with edge 63 of aperture 51 to allow the attachment legs 77 to pass through the aperture. Upon the insertion or withdrawal of the lampholder 3 from the panel aperture, free ends 81 of the attachment legs 77 bear against the outer cylindrical surface 83 of insulating body 41, to limit the compression of shoulders 79 and thereby provide a relatively stiff spring action for the shoulders 79.

From viewing FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be understood that lampholder 3 is readily snapped into seated engagement with the panel aperture from the right side or front of the panel by means of the engagement of the legs 77 of the clamping member 49 with the panel aperture 51. The mounted lampholder 3 may be readily removed from the fixture panel 7 for servicing and the like. For example, lampholder 3, as shown in its mounted position in FIG. 1, may be easily removed from panel 7 from the right side or front of the panel by prying it out with a suitable tool, or it may be removed from the rear or left side of the panel by pushing closed end 71 of body 41 toward the right.

For many lampholder applications, such as, for example, the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is important that the lampholder contacts be arranged in a predetermined angular position and in a non-rotational relationship with their supporting panels. To expediently accomplish this, as shown in FIG. la, aperture 51 of the supporting panel 8 has a rectangular notch 85 formed in the rounded inner edge 63 thereof. The notch 85 receives a radially projecting box-shaped key 87 (FIGS. 4 and 6) formed on the outer wall 83 of the insulating body 41 adjacent the open end 45 thereof, to assure that the lampholder 3 is seated intoengagement with panel aperture 51 in a predetermined angular relationship. The key 87 of lampholder insulating body 41 thus cooperates with notch 85 of the panel aperture to always fasten the lampholder 3 to the fixture panel 7 in the same relative position, and it precludes any rotation of the lampholder in the panel after it is fastened thereto.

It will now therefore be seen that by means of one aspect of my invention, the clamping member 49 attaches the plunger 15 to insulating body 41 to form a compact housing for the lampholder 3, and at the same time enables the lampholder 3 to be readily and removably mounted in a panel aperture without requiring the use of any supplemental hardware. It will also be seen that the lampholder 3 includes a complementary engagement means for cooperating with the panel aperture and thereby precluding any rotation of the lampholder in the fixture panel.

Turning now to a further aspect of the present invention whereby there is provided a new and improved pressure locking contact arrangement for a lampholder which incorporates a movable contact positioning plunger, attention is direoted to FIG. 6. For resiliently locking the bared ends of external conductors into engagement with the lampholder 3, two terminal elements 39 are provided. Each of the elements 89 is effectively adapted for complementary engagement with chamber 43 of the insulating body 41, and as shall be further understood hereinafter, helps to support and position one of the coiled compression springs 91 in the lampholder cavity 53.

More particularly, the terminal element 89 comprises a generally L-shaped contact engaging section 93 and a looped or U-shaped pressure locking section 95, which are integrally connected together by arm 97. The L- shaped section 93 includes a generally flat platform 99 with an aperture 101 formed therein, and limb 103 which is turned over in perpendicular fashion from platform 99, as shown in FIG. 6. The platform 99 fits into complementary engagement with a similarly configured recess toward a transverse integral partition 153 of the plunger 15 to bias the plunger outwardly from chamber 43. Each of the contacts 149 and 151 also has a transverse embossment 154 (FIG. 6) formed on its surface between shoulders 145 and 147 thereof. Embossment 154 engages the back surface of partition 153 When the lampholder is disengaged from a lamp base.

In addition to the transverse partition 153 of plunger 15, which acts as a stop for the contacts 149 and 151,

the plunger 15 is provided with an integral longitudinal partition 155 (FIG. 2) which insulates each of the springs 91 and the contacts 149 and 151 from each other.

To enable the spring biased contacts 149 and 151 to engage the inleads 25 and 27 of lamp 1, these contacts extend through aligned slots 157 (FIG. 4) in the partition 153 and into the cavity 159 in the front face of plunger 15. The back surface of the partition 153 is slanted forwardly and inwardly from its ends toward the center, as is shown by dotted lines in the plan view at the left side of FIG. 2, so that the blades of the contacts 149 and 151 diverge outwardly from each other when the lamp is removed from engagement with the lampholder 3.

The springs 91 in the lampholder 3 thus serve the dual purpose of biasing the plunger 15 outwardly of the chamber 53 and biasing the outer ends of the contacts 149 and 151 outwardly from each other so that these contacts make a positive connection with the inleads 25 and 27 of the inserted lamp base 11. The springs 91 are connected to terminal elements 89 by means of their engagement with platform 99 thereof and thus serve to conduct electrical energy to the mounted lamp from the terminal elements 89.

It will now therefore be seen that the lampholder 3 embodying the present invention is of simplified construction and effectively achieves automatic resilient locking of the bared ends of conductors by means of a novel structural arrangement.

Turning now to a detailed discussion of the noncompressible or fixed end type of lampholder 5 embodying my invention, attention is initially directed to the right side of FIGS. 1 and 2. The lampholder 5 is similar to the aforementioned lampholder 3 in that it includes the clamping member 49 for snapping the lampholder into engagement with the panel aperture 51 of a suitable fixture. However, the lampholder 5 differs from lampholder 3 inthat it is of smaller construction and includes fewer parts. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 11, the lampholder 5 comprises a relatively shallow cupshaped insulating body 171, a pair of identical contacts 173 positioned in a recess 175 (FIG. 2) of body 171, a contact positioning insulating disc 177 disposed in complementary engagement with body 171 in recess 175, and a clamping member 49 for rigidly fastening disc 177 to body 171 and for also removably mounting the lampholder 5 to a panel aperture 51.

For supporting and positioning the contacts 173 and insulating disc 177 in insulating body 171, the body 171 has its recess 175 divided into two laterally spaced chambers 179 located at the closed end 181 of body 171 (as shown in FIG. 11) and opening axially into a'generally cylindrical outer cavity section 183 at the. open end 185 of body 171.

One of the contacts 173 is positioned in each of the chambers 179 of body 171, as shown in FIG. 12, as shall be set forth in detail hereinafter. The disc 177 telescopes into complementary engagement with the generally cylindrical outer cavity section 183 of body 171 to form a very compact and wafer-like insulative housing for the contacts 173 of the lampholder. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 11, insulating body 171 has a pair of inwardly facing opposed ears 187 formed on outer cavity section 183. Disc 177 has an annular flange 189 with a pair of opposed indentations 191 formed thereon. The flange 189 of disc 177 fits into the outer side of FIG. 2, and the indentations 191 of the flange -189 receive ears 187 to securely and compactly form an insulative'housing for the lampholder contacts 173.

As shown in FIG. 11, the outer periphery of insulating 'body 171 includes a series of four channels which are equiangularly spaced apart and in generally parallel relationship to the axis of a body 171. One pair of these channels is of the type identified by reference 193a in FIG. 11; and the other pair of channels is of the type identified by reference 193b in FIG. 11. Each of the channels 193a and 193b extends between open end 185 of body 171 and the other side of annular flange 182, and it has a pair of opposed shoulders 195 formed on the rearward side of flange 182. (See FIG. 1.) The shoulders 195 are functionally and structurally similar to shoulders 73 of the body 41 of lampholder 3.

The clamping member 49 is attached to body 171 and also fastens disc 177 thereto, as shown in the right side of FIG. 2, in the same manner as previously described for lampholder 3. Thus, T-shaped lugs 67 of clamping member 49 are located in channels 193a and 19312 of body 171, and the outermost arms 75 of the lugs are then bent over into engagement behind the opposed shoulders 195 of the channels to clamp member 49 to body 171. The diameter of central aperture 65 of the annular section 59 of the clamping member is smaller than the diameter of the outer periphery 189a of flange 189 and member 49 thus holds disc 177 in rigid complementary relationship with body 171. (See FIG. 8.) The clamping member 49 for lampholder 5 includes the aforementioned series of attachment legs 77 for removably, simply and effectively snapping the lampholder 5 into engagement with a panel aperture 51 in the same manner previously described for lampholder 3. To preclude rotation of the lampholder 5 in panel 7 after it is fastened thereto, a radially projecting key 87 of lampholder insulating body 171 cooperates with notch of the panel aperture 51 in the same manner previously described for lampholder 3.

Turning now to a further aspect of the present invention, whereby there is provided a new and improved pressure locking contact arrangement for a lampholder which incorporates a stationary contact positioning member, attention is directed to FIG. 11. For resiliently locking the bared ends of external conductors into engagement with lampholder 5, the two aforementioned contacts 173 are provided. Each of the contacts 173 comprises an elongated strip section 201 of generally U-shaped configuration and a looped strip section 203 which is connected integrally thereto. More particularly, the U-shaped strip section 201 of each contact 173 tacts 173 are connected together by an inwardly bowshaped bight 209.

For connecting the integral looped strip section 203 to the pressure locking terminations 205 of contact 173,

as shown in FIG. 11, an L-shaped strap section 211 is 'bent over from one of the edges of bight 209 near the center thereof. Strap 211 includes 'a supporting section 213 which is generally coplanar to the body engaging edges of tongues 205 and bight 209, as shown in FIG. 11, and together with these edges engages the inner transverse surface 214 (FIG. 12) of one of the chambers 179 to support the associated contact therein. The other 'part of the L-shaped strap 211 forms a supporting shank for the looped strip section 203. As best shown in FIG. 11, the strip section 203 is of a considerably narrower width than the elongated strip section 201, to enable the aaeaoae 1 1' extension of this looped section 203 through slots 215 of the insulating disc 177. (See FIG. 9.)

To prevent .the resilient movement of each of the locking tongues 205 from undesirably effecting mov ent of the other tongue 205, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, each of the chambers 179 of lampholder insulating body 171 is specially constructed to cooperate with the U- shaped strip section 201. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 12, each of the chambers 179 is separated from the other chamber by a transverse rib 217 and it has a generally oblong configuration. Thus, as shown on the right side of FIG. 12, each of the chambers 179 is bounded by rib 217 on one side thereof, inwardly bowed longitudinal wall 219 which is disposed in opposition to rib 217, and opposed end walls 221 which are in general oonterminous with rib 217 and longitudinal wall 219. As shown best in FIG. 8, each of the opposed end walls 221 has a circular-shaped conductor receiving aperture 223 formed therein, and rectangularly configured unlocking aperture 225 adjacent thereto. Each pair of adjacent apertures 223 and 225 opens into one of the chambers 179 from one end Wall 221 thereof and faces another adjacent pair of apertures 223 and 225 at the other end wall 221 of the same chamber 179. (See also FIG. 10.)

To simply and effectively segregate the resilient functioning of each of the locking tongues 205 from that of the other and at the same time prevent the resilient functioning of each of these tongues 205 from imparting any deleterious effect to the resilient function of the looped strip section 203, each of the contacts 173 is positioned in chamber 179 of the insulating body 171, as shown in FIG. 12. Each contact 173 is thus positioned in insulating body 171, so that the U-shap-ed strip section 201 fits snugly into a chamber 179, with the inwardly bow-shaped bight 209 engaging inwardly bowed longitudinal wall 219, and the locking tongues 205 disposed in convergent relationship and next to an associated end wall .221. With this arrangement, as shown in FIG. 12, a pair of opposed upright bosses 227 are formed in chamber 179 alongside of the juncture 228 or bent part of L-shaped strap 211. The bosses 227 project toward the open end 185 of the lampholder insulating body from closed end wall 181, and

are disposed within each chamber 179 so that they bracket the inner end of juncture 228 of the strap 211. Each pair of bosses 227 is disposed on opposite respective sides of a strap 211 so that the bosses engage the opposite outer edges of strap 211 adjacent juncture 228 upon the resilient flexure of each of the locking tongues 205. Thus, for example, when a bared conductor is inserted through a conductor receiving aperture 223 on one side of a chamber 179 and engages a tongue 205, due to the engagement of juncture 228 of strap 211 of the contact with the boss 227 which is farthest away from it, the resilient flexure of the tongue 205 imparts little or no effect upon the opposing tongue 205 at the other side of the contact.

As shown in FIG. 12 to provide a limited bearing area for the pivoted flexure of each of the resilienttongues 205, a molded stud 229 is positioned in chamber 179 in spaced adjacency to the curved intersection 231 of longitudinalwall 219 and each end wall 221. Stud 229 is thus spaced radially inwardly from the curved intersection 231 of bight 209 and tongue 205 of the contact, and it engages the contact at or near this curved intersection to provide a limited bearing area for each tongue 205.

To effect the pressure looking engagement of bared conductor ends by the pressure locking tongues 205 of contacts 173, the tongues 205 are normally resiliently biased away from each other and toward their associated apertures 223 to provide a wedging biasing force. Thus, when the bared end of a conductor is thrust inwardly through the opposed apertures 223 of each chamber, the associated locking tongue 205 pivots and flexes about its curved end in response to the force transmitted to it by the inserted conductor, and the tapered groove 207 of tongue 205 resilientlycoacts with the adjacent end of transverse rib 217 and aperture 223 to sandwich or wedge the bared conductor end into electrical engagement with contact v173. (See FIG. 12.) As shown in FIG. 12, each of the contacts 173 effectively provides two pressure locking terminations, one at each end of the U-shaped strip section 201. This construction conveniently lends itself to simplified installation by reducing the number of splices required, and thereby substantially reduces installation expense of the fixture with which the lampholder 5 is incorporated.

To disengage any conductor (from its pressure 'locking tongue 205, one needs .merely to insert a sharply pointed tool through unlocking aperture 225 in the same manner previously described for lampholder 3. Flexure of each of the pressure locking tongues 205 inwardly thus unlocks any bared conductor end from electrical engagement with its tongue.

Turning now to a discussion of the looped strip section 203 of contacts 173, attention is directed to FIGS. 2 and 11. As shown in FIG. 12, the U-shaped strip section 201 of each of the contacts 173 is positioned in its chamber 179 of insulating body 171 so that it supports the looped strip section 203. (See also FIG. 2.) When the disc 177 is positioned in complementary engagement with insulating body 171 by means of clamping member 49, the major portion of the looped strip section 203 extends outwardly through slot 215 of the disc (as shown in FIG. 2) and protrudes into cavity 233 in the front face of the disc. The side 235 of section 203 next to end '237 is then disposed next to the innermost end of each slot 215 and the end'237 engages central embossment 239 of rib 217 (FIG. 11). As shown on the right side of FIG. 2, the elongated 'errrbossment 21 of lamp base 13 telescopes into cavity 233 of lampholder 5 and the outermost ends of inleads 2'5 and'27 engage the outer side 241 of looped strip section 203 to conduct electrical energy to the mounted lamp from contacts 173. When the inleads of the lamp base 13 engage sides 241 of contact sections 203, the outer ends of the looped sections 203 are thereby brushed toward each other to achieve the desired contact wiping effect. The resilient movement of looped section 203 upon contact with the inleads is in a direction generally perpendicular to' the direction of movement of pressure locking tongues 205 and the functioning of loops 203 has no effect upon the functioning of tongues 205.

It will now, therefore, be seen that the lampholder 5 embodying my invention is of simplified construction and effectively achieves automatic resilient locking of the bared ends of two conductors to each lampholder contact by means of a novel structural arrangement.

FIG. 13 illustrates, as a modified form of the present invention, a lampholder similar to the lampholder 5 of previous description. For the lampholder 251, the same reference numerals have been employed to indicate lampholder parts which have heretofore been described for lampholder 5. The lampholder 251 differs from lampholder 5 in that the contacts 253 do not extend outwardly of recess for engagement with associated lamp base contacts but are instead engaged by extending lamp pins (not shown) of a lamp base through apertures 255 of stationary disc 257. Each of the contacts 253 of lampholder 251 employs a U-shaped strip section 258 which provides two pressure locking tongues and is identical structurally and functionally to the U- shaped strip section of contacts .173 of lampholder 5. The lampholder 251 also employs the same insulating body as does lampholder 5. The structure of the contacts 253 differs from that of the contacts 173 of lampholder 5 in that the width of the strip material comprising looped section 259 of contact 253 is greater than the width of the material comprising looped strip section 203 of contact 173. In addition, each of the contacts 253 has a pair of wings 261 which extend outwardly and angularly from the side edges of the inner side 263 of the looped section. These wings 261 cooperate with a recessformed in the underside (not shown) of disc 257 to position the looped section 259 of the cont-acts therein.

Upon engagement of a suitable lamp base (not shown) with lampholder 251, the lamp pins thereof enter apertures 255 of disc 257 to resiliently engage the outward side 265 of the looped section.

FIG. 14 illustrates a further modified form of lampholder 5. Lampholder 271 which is shown in this figure differs from lampholder 251 in that it employs a stationary disc 273 with a single relatively wide central aperture 275 formed therein. The disc 273 is in complementary engagement with an insulating body 171 and is exposes two recessed contacts 253 of the same construction and function as the contacts for lampholder 251.

It will now therefore be seen that the present invention provides novel lampholders which may be very conveniently mounted in panel apertures without requiring the use of any supplemental hardware. It will be further understood that the lampholders of the present invention are simple in construction, eflicient in operation, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

While in accordance with the patent statutes, I have described what at present are considered to be the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and I, therefore, aim in the following claims to cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A fluorescent lampholder arranged for mounting in a thin supporting panel having a circular aperture with a notch in its periphery, said lampholder comprising an insulating body having a cylindrical configuration of lesser diameter than the aperture for arrangement therein, said body having a cavity formed therein which opens outwardly at one end, a radially projecting key disposed on the outer periphery of said body for cooperation with said notch of the panel aperture, a contact-positioning member disposed in said cavity, contact means disposed in said cavity and exposed for engagement with a fluorescent lamp base by said contact-positioning member, an annular clamping member secured to said insulating body for removably retaining said lampholder in firmly seated position in said panel, said clamping member having an annular section with a flanged outer periphery of greater diameter than the aperture to seat on said panel around the periphery of said aperture, said annular section being arranged to engage said contact-positioning member and the open end of said insulating body to attach said member to said body, a plurality of attaching legs extending from the outer periphery of said annular section and spaced about the periphery of said insulating body, each of said legs having an outwardly extending shoulder spaced apart from said annular section a suitable distance to receive an edge of the circular panel aperture therebetween, whereby the legs of said clamping member snap into cooperative engagement with the circular aperture of the supporting panel to removably fasten said lampholder thereto and the cooperation of the key of said insulating body with the notch of the panel aperture precludes any rotation of said lampholder in the panel, and a series of T-shaped lugs extending in generally perpendicular fashion from said flanged outer periphery of said annular section, said lugs being arranged in equi-angular spaced apart relationship on said section, said insulating body including a flanged portion extending around at least a part of the outer peripheral circumference of said insulating body adjacent said one end and a number of spaced shoulders on the other side of said flanged portion from said one end, each of said lugs including a pair of arms engaging at least one associated shoulder on said insulating body thereby to attach the clamping member and said contact-positioning member to said insulating body.

2. A snap-in fluorescent lampholder mountable in a panel aperture with a recess in its periphery, said lampholder comprising: an insulating body formed with a key to engage the recess, said insulating body having a cavity formed therein which opens outwardly at one end; a contact-positioning member slidably disposed for movement into said cavity; means positioned in said cavity to bias said contact-positioning member toward said outwardly open end of said insulating body; contacts positioned on said contact-positioning member and exposed toward said outwardly open end of said insulating body for engagement with a fluorescent lamp base; a clamping member positioned at said outwardly open end of said insulating body and secured to said body for removably mounting said lampholder in said panel aperture, said clamping member having a generally radially extending flanged outer periphery portion adapted to engage said panel around the periphery of said panel aperture and also defining an inner opening in which said contact-positioning member is positioned and shaped to limit the movement of said contact-positioning member toward said outwardly open end of the insulating body; and a plurality of attaching legs fastened to and extending from said flanged outer periphery portion of said clamping member adjacent said insulating body, each of said legs having a free end and also having an outwardly extending shoulder adapted to snap into cooperative engagement with said panel aperture, and said key formed on said insulating body precluding rotation of said lampholder when mounted on said panel.

3. A fluorescent lampholder arranged to be mounted on a thin supporting panel having a circular aperture with a panel slot in its periphery, said lampholder comprising: a cup-shaped insulating body having an essentially circular external configuration with a diameter less than the diameter of said panel aperture, said insulating body having a cavity formed therein which opens outwardly at one end; a projecting key extending from the outer periphery of said insulating body for engaging the panel slot thereby to prevent relative rotation of said insulating body and said panel; a cylindrically shaped contact-positioning member slidably disposed for movement in said cavity, said contact-positioning member having at least one radially projecting stop; electrically conductive spring means positioned at least partially within said contact-positioning member and in said cavity in engagement with said insulating body for biasing said contact-positioning member outwardly from said one end of said insulating body; contact means mounted on said contact-positioning member in respective engagement with said spring means and exposed for engagement with a fluorescent lamp base; a pair of terminals in respective engagement with said spring means; and a clamping member positioned at said one end of said insulating body and fastened thereto, said clamping member having an annular generally radially extending flange section larger than the panel aperture thereby to seat around said panel aperture and having an internal opening through which said contact-positioning member is movable, said projecting stop engaging said annular section to limit the movement outwardly in said cavity, said clamping member having a plurality of attaching legs extending therefrom and extending adjacent said insulating body, each of said legs having a free end and also having an outwardly extending shoulder shaped for cooperative engagement in said panel aperture.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,882,080 10/1932 I-Iubbell 339-133 (Other references on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Warsher 339-55 Woodward 220-18 Woodward 220- Howenstine 339-56 Lemmers 339-53 Pistey 339- Johnson 339-128 Slater 339- Donato 339-128 Webber 339-126 X 6 2/1959 Despard 339-95 10/1961 Radack 339-1-28 10/1962 Pistey 339-53 10/1962 Pistey 339-53 12/1963 Kulk-a 339-128 X FOREIGN PATENTS 8/ 1959 Australia.

10 PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Primary Examiner.

R. E. MOORE, Assistant Examiner. 

2. A SNAP-IN FLUORESCENT LAMPHOLDER MOUNTABLE IN A PANEL APERTURE WITH A RECESS IN ITS PERIPHERY, SAID LAMPHOLDER COMPRISING: AN INSULATING BODY FORMED WITH A KEY TO ENGAGE THE RECESS, SAID INSULATING BODY HAVING A CAVITY FORMED THEREIN WHICH OPENS OUTWARDLY AT ONE END; A CONTACT-POSITIONING MEMBER SLIDABLY DISPOSED FOR MOVEMENT INTO SAID CAVITY; MEANS POSITIONED IN SAID CAVITY TO BIAS SAID CONTACT-POSITIONING MEMBER TOWARD SAID OUTWARDLY OPEN END OF SAID INSULATING BODY; CONTACTS POSITIONED ON SAID CONTACT-POSITIONING MEMBER AND EXPOSED TOWARD SAID OUTWARDLY OPEN END OF SAID INSULATING BODY FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH A FLUORESCENT LAMP BASE; A CLAMPING MEMBER POSITIONED AT SAID OUTWARDLY OPEN END OF SAID INSULATING BODY AND SECURED TO SAID BODY FOR REMOVABLY MOUNTING SAID LAMPHOLDER IN SAID PANEL APERTURE, SAID CLAMPING MEMBER HAVING A GENERALLY RADIALLY EXTENDING FLANGED OUTER PERIPHERY PORTION ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID PANEL AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID PANEL APERTURE AND ALSO DEFINING AN INNER OPENING IN WHICH SAID COANTACT-POSITIONING MEMBER IS POSITIONED AND SHAPED TO LIMIT THE MOVEMENT OF SAID CONTACT-POSITIONING MEMBER TOWARD SAID OUTWARDLY OPEN END OF THE INSULATING BODY; AND A PLURALITY OF ATTACHING LEGS FASTENED TO AND EXTENDING FROM SAID FLANGED OUTER PERIPHERY PORTION OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBER ADJACENT SAID INSULATING BODY, EACH OF SAID LEGS HAVING A FREE END AND ALSO HAVING AN OUTWARDLY EXTENDING SHOULDER ADAPTED TO SNAP INTO COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PANEL APERTURE, AND SAID KEY FORMED ON SAID INSULATING BODY PRECLUDING ROTATION OF SAID LAMPHOLDER WHEN MOUNTED ON SAID PANEL. 